The Prinkipo Greek Orthodox Orphanage, Europe’s largest wooden structure off the coast of Istanbul, is set to be transformed into a hotel after years of unsuccessful attempts to secure restoration funding, the Ecumenical Patriarchate said in a statement.
For more than half a century, the historic structure served thousands of children until Turkish authorities shut it down in 1964. Since then, the five-story building has been lying in a state of despair, with parts of it already collapsing. In 2010 and after lengthy legal battles, the European Court of Human Rights ordered its return to the Patriarchate.
Following a meeting of the Holy Synod chaired by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the patriarchate released a statement saying all efforts to fund its restoration had failed and unanimously decided “to proceed with plans for the development of tourist activities in the area, consistent with the social and architectural character of the island, environmentally conscious and according to ecological construction models.”
‘Numerous initiatives to secure financing for the restoration of the wooden orphanage complex, which was abandoned and severely damaged since the 1960s, have unfortunately not yielded results,” the statement reads.
The Patriarchate said the decision was made “with respect for the legacy of the orphanage, which served the community for many years,” and in the hope that the project would contribute to the economic, social and cultural development of Princes’ islands.
Greek daily Kathimerini reports that long-term lease arrangements are being considered with investors from Turkey, Greece and multi-national hotel chains.
Restoration estimates suggest that at least 60 million euros ($68.5 million) would be needed for the conversion of the structure
The Greek Orthodox orphanage was built in 1898 by French-Ottoman architect Alexandre Vallaury as a luxury hotel called “Prinkipo Palace” but Sultan Abdul Hamid II never issued operating permits. In 1903, it was bought by Eleni Zarifi, the wife of a prominent Greek banker, who donated it to the Ecumenical Patriarchate to be used as an orphanage. The massive, five-story orphanage has several wings, which accommodate a total of 206 rooms.
In 2019, the leading European heritage organization Europa Nostra and the European Investment Bank (EIB) Institute stated in a report that a restoration of the Prinkipo Greek Orthodox orphanage in Istanbul would cost at least 40 million euros.
Furthermore, the ambitious project would take four to five years to complete, according to the report.
“There are many caveats and uncertainties making it impossible to provide a reasonable and fair estimate of the full project costs. However, on the basis of the opinions expressed by several external experts, it is reasonable to expect the project to require a total investment of at least 40 million [euros] (a figure that, depending on many factors, could be much higher)” the report explained.
The report from the Europa Nostra and EIB Institute came as the result of a three-day mission to Turkey, as well as a structural report produced by Clive Dawson, a structural engineer with wide-ranging experience in historic buildings, who visited the site in April 2019.
“As far as the site is currently abandoned to decay, an immediate preliminary intervention should be quickly designed, planned and implemented to protect the buildings from further deterioration,” the report urged.
The organization and the EIB also said that the Istanbul-based Greek Orthodox Patriarch would be responsible for raising the necessary funds for financing the main repair work and for carrying out the implementation of the project, since it is the legal owner of the site.
